2 Finally
by Sanguine Tear
Summary: AU The group has found a safe place to stop for a while. Can Daryl accept their past and find a future with the newest member of the group?


Finally

The group continued down the road as the van moved around one obstacle then another. Off to the side of the road they came across a motorcycle lying on its side in perfect condition, just out of gas. Soon they were on their way once again as Daryl rode beside them on his new mode of transportation. Lu looked out of the window beside her to where Daryl was riding. Carol was setting next to her and spoke.

"You really like him, don't you?"

She smiled at her and answered.

"We grew up together, that's all. It's just good to see an old friend in this day."

Carol nodded. She knew that there was more to it than childhood friends but neither of them was ready to admit it. Pulling off the road they stopped as they came to a fork. They sat there a moment trying to decide which way to go since neither road looked promising. Deciding to send Daryl a few miles in each direction, he got ready to go as Lu approached.

"You're going to need a backup just in case. I'm going with you."

"Hop on." He said.

Putting her staff in her back holster she got behind him as they headed down the right fork first. Soon they came across a bunch of burned out cars. Weaving through them judging if the van could get through, they went a couple more miles finding nothing but more destroyed cars and several walkers. Turning around they headed back to the others.

"Anything?" Rick asked.

"Nah, we went about five miles down. Nothing but a burned-out mess of cars that the van might not get through and some walkers."

"Alright, we've still got a few more hours of daylight left. Go ahead and try the left, let's see if it gets any better."

Daryl nodded as they headed off once again, this time to the left. About three miles down the road they came to a barbed wire fence and in the distance a large farmhouse.

"Oh, shit. Another farmhouse." Daryl sighed.

"What do you mean?" Lu asked.

"Nothin." He answered before turning and heading up to the house.

Circling it they didn't find any walkers outside and it looked deserted. Heading back, they told the rest and soon they were all moving once again. Knocking loudly on the door they waited, knowing that no one would answer. Finding the door unlocked they walked in sweeping the house for any danger. Finding no bodies or walkers they started searching the house and picking out rooms to sleep in. Rick and Michonne found the master bedroom, while Carl and Judith found the kids room. Looking inside the room everyone smiled. The people who used to live here also had a boy and girl. Half of the room was in baseball and the other half was pink unicorns. The boys side had stacks of comic books of all different kinds while the girls side had a massive pile of coloring books and crayons. There were two more small rooms down the hall. At the end of the hall Glen and Maggie grabbed that one. It looked to have been the guest room, it was made up with homestyle bedsheets and curtains. Beside the kids' room was the last small room and it looked to have belonged to an older teenaged boy. There were posters of swimsuit models and model cars and planes scattered around. Daryl claimed that one as the rest wanted to argue since Hershel was older, and Beth and Mercedes were still young. Daryl just looked at them unbothered and tossed his bag down of the full-size iron bed. Its springs squeaked under protest. They were about to argue when he spoke.

"Hey, I found the house, this room is mine."

Carol smiled at him and spoke.

"Lu found it with you."

He nodded.

"It's large enough for two. She can sleep on the other side."

Carol just shook her head and left. Everyone else, including Lu, gathered in the large living room picking out places to sleep. Mercedes looked around as they started to unroll sleeping bags unsure of where to go. Lu smiled at her and spoke.

"Pick a spot and crash, kid."

She nodded putting her stuff next to Lu. Once they had unloaded the car with all the plastic tubs and piles of clothing that they had grabbed they started looking around. In the kitchen they found a lot of food and home canned goods.

"It looks like the people here did a lot of their own canning." Carol said smiling at the full pantry.

"That's good." Hershel said. "It might mean that out back somewhere is a garden."

Looking around the kitchen Lu smiled. They watched as she grabbed a match from a nearby jar and head over to the stove. Turning the dials, she spoke.

"There's a large propane tank out back that I noticed when we circled this place. This is obviously a gas stove. It's one of the old ones that needs a match to light it. Let's see if it still works."

Lighting the match, she held it close, immediately a flame appeared on the burner. Leaning down the lit the stove's main pilot. Smiling happily, she looked over at the sink.

"Oh, please be propane as well." She said out loud as she reached for the hot water faucet.

Letting the water run for a few seconds she laughed. Turning to the others she spoke.

"It's hot."

The rest cheered as she looked over at Daryl.

"Your house ran on propane too. Go check to see how much that tank has."

He nodded and turned to leave as Rick spoke.

"Not alone. This area isn't secure yet. I don't want anyone out of the house alone until we can set a watch."

The others agreed as Carol spoke.

"I'll go with him."

They headed out the back door as the rest started searching the house for anything hidden, food, weapons, anything. Outside Daryl was checking the tank as Carol spoke.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Who? Lu? We just grew up together, that's all." He answered.

Carol sighed. That was just what Lu had said this morning. Deciding to speak her mind she turned to him.

"Daryl, you like her, I can tell. She likes you too, so what's the problem?"

He looked at her and nodded letting her know he knew it too, then answered.

"She might like me like that, we've always been close. But I'm never going to be the one that forces her into something."

"I don't think that getting together with her would require force." Carol pointed out with a smile.

"Nah, we're good as friends." He answered.

"You could be better as lovers." She reasoned.

Daryl just smiled and shook his head. He knew that she would hook up with him if he asked. It was their pasts that was holding him back. He really wanted to touch her, and he also knew that she hated being touched. He would never force her to do anything, so what was the point of being a couple? They were fine as friends and that way he could still protect her without her feeling like she had to have sex with him in return.

"What the hell's this?" He asked himself looking at the ground.

"What?" Carol asked walking around the tank to the other side where he was standing.

"There's some type of feeder line hooked up to it." He answered.

Looking at the pipe he saw that it headed to a large barn a few yards away. The doors were chained shut so they didn't know what was inside.

"Let's go and get the others." He said.

Everything inside him told him that there was something inside that barn. Soon the rest of them were gathered around their weapons at the ready. Glen moved forward and popped the lock on the chain. The doors slowly opened as flashbacks of another slowly opening wooden doorway filled the minds of most of them. Unlike before though, this time nothing came out of it. Moving forward Daryl, Lu and Michonne swept the large shed. There were no walkers, but Daryl and Lu looked at the massive tank taking up most of the barn. In fact, it looked like the barn had been built around the tank.

"That is so illegal." Lu laughed.

"Hell, Lu. You should know." Daryl teased as the others looked at it.

"What is it?" Carl asked.

Daryl looked at him and spoke.

"It's an industrial sized propane tank."

Carl just blinked still not understanding. Lu explained.

"That propane tank behind the house is the biggest you can buy for a home. This size is meant for a very large business. It looks like we've stumbled across the former home of a survivalist family. Always be prepared."

"Yeah," Daryl continued. "That feeder line there is coming from this large tank. Looks like the feeder valve is open too, keeping the other tank topped off."

"How much is in this one?" Glen asked.

Looking at the gauge Daryl answered.

"It's full, looks like they topped it off just before the world went to shit. Never got a chance to use any of it though."

Searching the barn, they laughed when they looked in what would be the hay loft. Filling the loft were crates of MREs. Rick spoke.

"Alright, these are really heavy and there is only about an hour of daylight left if that. We'll set a watch tonight and move this stuff into the house tomorrow. Let's keep looking downstairs and see what's there."

Downstairs along the back wall they found large drums of gasoline and more boxes of MREs. These were not in crates so they started carrying what they could inside. Daryl and Lu stood guard outside against any walkers that might head their way as the others formed a fire line and passed the smaller packages of MREs down the line. As dusk was settling Hershel left the barn as Maggie took over guard for Lu and she and Hershel went out to check on the two wells they saw. Hershel was speaking as they studied the area.

"That generator runs the pump for the two wells. We need to use as little gas as possible. I've already checked the generator and it was almost empty. It looks like it had been powering the house since everything fell apart, but no one has used any electricity so it's a good thing that you found it now. If not, then it would have run dry and burned up probably taking all this good stuff with it. If we limit our use of lights we can stay here for a very long time. In fact, I believe that I can make a hand pump to draw water from the well without using the generator at all. That would save it and last even longer."

Checking the wells, they were both deep water that had been closed off not allowing for contamination or the same disaster as at Hershel's farm. As night fell everyone settled down inside as the women got together to cook a hot dinner for everyone. Hearing someone in the doorway they turned to see Daryl standing there.

"Look, it's just a suggestion but if you want people to be able to eat the food then you should probably get rid of Lu for a while." He warned.

She stuck her tongue out at him and answered.

"For your information my foster mother's sister was a chef at a top restaurant in Atlanta. She taught me how to cook."

"Well, it's been a long time. You couldn't have gotten any worse, that's for sure."

Grabbing a stuffed mushroom that she had made she handed it to him.

"Here, try it."

"Where did you get the mushrooms?" He questioned.

"Oh, those. I found them growing under some tree."

He looked at her in a panic as she laughed.

"Daryl, how many mushrooms did we pick? You know the rule, never eat mushrooms growing by a fallen tree. These are the one that you and I picked early this morning in case we didn't find anything else to eat today."

Nodding his head, he relaxed and ate the mushroom.

"Wow." He said.

He couldn't believe it. Whatever she had used it was good. When she had left, she couldn't even boil water. She could field dress a deer in seconds, but she couldn't cook for shit. Now she seemed like she knew what she was doing.

"See? I told you, I've improved."

He nodded smiling at her then heading back into the living room. Calling everyone together there was a large dinner of deer steak, potatoes and even bread all courtesy of provisions lifted from the fortress.

"Where did the dinner rolls come from?" Glen asked looking at the fluffy brown rolls.

"The fortress." Beth said. "That creepy guy in charge of the food tent showed me how to make bread and when we left, I grabbed some flour and yeast. While we were taking stuff out of the tubs that Lu had stored there were two full five-pound buckets of all-purpose flour and a large bucket of yeast. There was also powdered milk and when we left, I snatched a couple of dozen eggs. Along with a tub of fresh churned butter."

Lu sighed.

"Man, I'm going to miss our cow. I hate powdered milk."

Everyone settled down and ate a wonderful meal unlike anything that they had eaten in a very long time. They decided to set a curfew for the lights to conserve as much energy as possible so once the kitchen was clean, they decided that in the summer when the daylight was long, they would leave the lights on until nine. In the winter, if they were still here, they would turn them off between seven and eight depending on how the night fell. All the lights off and shifts set to guard the barn they all readied for bed. Hours later dawn arose on another day. Calling in the last guard shift of Daryl and Lu everyone started moving around. Carol smiled at Daryl and spoke.

"Barns can be romantic. Anything happen in the hayloft?"

"Stop." He smiled.

Soon the smell of breakfast came as they used some of the eggs to make omelets, without cheese but they added onions and potatoes in it. The milk was indeed powdered as Lu and a couple of the others wondered if it would be worth the forty-plus mile trip back to get the cow and chickens. It was decided not to since by this time either the walkers had found them, or the Governor had taken them with him after the raid. Daryl noticed Lu pouting at the decision and kicked her under the table. Looking at him he started moving his fingers. She nodded and settled down eating breakfast. After breakfast they all decided to have a look around and check out their surroundings. Rick and Daryl headed off to study the perimeter as other just wandered around. Outside, not far from the house was a small duck pond. Carol and Lu walked around the pond as Carol spoke.

"You seem to be looking for something, what is it?"

"Tracks." She answered.

"Of what?"

"Anything, they're no animal tracks at all on the edge of the pond and that means there ain't been nothin here to drink. That's bad, no wildlife in the area. However, there ain't no footprints either so no walkers. That's good."

It was summer as Carol looked up at the sun then to Lu who was still wearing that ugly blue dress and oversized jacket.

"I bet some of those nice clothes we took from the fortress would fit you. We're going to go through them all today and size them up." Carol smiled.

"Yeah, I don't feel right in a dress."

"Maybe some nice jeans and a short sleeve blouse?" Carol asked trying to think about what she could wear that Daryl would notice.

"Shirt don't matter." She said. "This jacket is fine so short sleeve is alright. As long as I've got my jacket, I'm good."

"Why's that? Lu, you have a very nice figure so why won't you show it off?"

Lu just looked at her and shook her head.

"I don't show my arms."

"Why not?'

Walking over to her she raised her sleeves. On each arm were several round burn marks. Carol looked at her as she spoke.

"My old man thought it was funny to put his cigars out on me."

Lowering her sleeves Carol just looked at her. Deciding that Lu was indeed a lot like Daryl and that you had to be direct with her as well she spoke.

"Listen, I want us to be friends. I think that we have a lot in common."

"Besides Daryl, you mean?" Lu answered leveling her eyes on her.

"Daryl's not mine." Carol said.

"No? Look, you've been with this group for a long time. Ya'll have known me for only a few weeks. I'm not going to muscle in or anything. I know you like him so I'm not even going to try. Challenging you at this point, with me being so new to the group, would only end up in forcing myself out. I won't interfere."

Carol just looked at her a moment in shock. Was she serious? The whole reason she's not chasing him was because she didn't want to cause problems within the group? She decided then and there that Lu was indeed a good person, dangerous, but good. Smiling at her Carol spoke.

"Listen to me. You want him, I can see that, and I've noticed that he wants you. Yeah, I've certainly tried for him, but I can't get through his defenses. I think that you can. I do care for him and because I do, I want him to be happy. So, to that end I will step back and let you in. Even in this world, I believe that people have a right to find happiness if only for a short while. If you make him happy then I'm fine with that."

"Are you? Really?"

"Yeah, I am. Really."

Lu nodded as they continued walking and discussing their past. Seeing Daryl and Rick heading their way Lu sighed and shook her head.

"Daryl sells himself short. He's a good guy and he needs someone better than me."

"What he needs is someone who will make him happy again. Past doesn't matter. What matters is thar you two are willing to hold on to each other as the world around you falls to shit. In the eyes of other people some might be too good while others might not be good enough. It's not about what others think, it about what you think of each other."

Lu just shook her head and answered.

"No, the world might have changed but people did not. If you knew my past, you'd think differently about me."

"What? About your father selling you when you were young? About the abortion that destroyed your ability to have children? Those things."

She turned and stared at her in shock. All she could do was just stand there and blink completely at a loss for words. Carol explained.

"In the fortress some of us wanted to leave you behind. You told us how to get out and some wanted to do just that. But Daryl refused. He wouldn't budge without you and he wouldn't tell us how to get out either. He was adamant, you were going with us, end of discussion. He then explained your past when you lived beside him. We all decided that you'd come with us, he told us that to enforce the fact that you were not going to be left behind."

Lu nodded and smiled.

"Daryl's like that, he's a good guy and that's why I say that I'm not good enough for him."

"Why? Because of something that you had no choice in?"

"No, because of what I did later."

"What's that?"

"I went to college." She shrugged.

"Not seeing a problem there." Carol said shaking her head.

"I went to college to be a lawyer specializing in legal aid for children. Child advocacy groups and such. I wanted to help those who've been through what I have. In the CPS system once you're eighteen, that's it, you're on your own. I got some financial aid for college but due to my grades I really didn't have much of a scholarship. I mean school wasn't important growing up and I didn't really start going until I went into the system at sixteen, so I was a late starter. Law school is expensive, and I needed money. There was a strip club down the road from the college and that's how I put myself through school."

"So? All you did was strip? Right? You didn't do anything illegal?" Carol asked.

"No, nothing illegal. After CPS took me away, I never had sex again. Until a few days back with Daryl in the fortress."

"Did you graduate?"

"Yeah, I was actually working at a high dollar legal company in Atlanta dealing with children's cases when everything went to shit."

"It seems to me that you did what you had to and never let it stop you from your dreams."

"I survived. Same as now." She shrugged.

"That you did. Don't you think that you deserve to be happy to?"

She just shrugged but Carol could see that she was thinking about it. Not long after they had returned Carol was able to find Daryl out in the barn making certain that they had cleaned it out. Walking over to him she smiled.

"You know, Lu is an interesting person." She began.

He just looked at her and nodded. As usual any conversation about her would be mostly one-sided with any answer being pulled out of him.

"I don't get it. You like each other. You shouldn't let your pasts interfere with your present."

"Why are you so concerned about us?"

"I think that you should be happy, and she makes you happy." Carol answered.

"I'm happy with things the way they are. No need for anything else."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Carol said.

He glared at her a moment not sure whether to tell her to keep her snooping nose out of his personal business or just ignore her. Carol walked over to him and stared at him speaking.

"You are going to listen to me, now. Lu likes you and I know the reason that you refuse to get with her is because of her past. Damn it, wake-up before it's too late. She wants you, not as a friend but more. I know the look of a woman who wants to be in a man's arms and your arms are the ones that she wants to be in. You're afraid of forcing her or making her think that she has to have sex to make you happy. Well, surprise, if you try you might find out that she's perfectly willing to be with you on the sexual side of a relationship."

"Maybe, still I wouldn't say that our first time together was anywhere near good."

"Is that what you're worried about? Trust me, she doesn't even care."

"Maybe." He said again before picking up his crossbow and throwing it over his shoulder.

She watched him leave the barn his body silhouetted in the light. As the day continued, she watched them move around each other. Their looks lingered longer, and casual touches were leaned into not away from. She had managed to crack the walls around their hearts, now she just hoped that somehow the walls would soon come tumbling down. A couple of hours later as evening was approaching them Lu was reorganizing the pantry when in the corner, she felt a draft. Being in such an odd place she focused on the back wall. Wiggling one of the shelves she noticed that the whole back wall moved. Pushing it, it swung open to reveal a hidden cellar. Finding a light switch she flipped it on, of course, it didn't work. Grabbing one of the high-powered flashlights and her staff she descended the stairs searching for walkers and discovering what was down there. Up in his room Daryl was sharpening some of his arrows. They had found a nice supply of arrows in the fortress and they had liberated most of them when they left. Many of his older ones were worn out and wouldn't fly straight anymore. Suddenly a loud knock sounded on his door.

"Who is it?" He shouted.

"Lu."

"Come on in." He said standing up.

Opening the door, she stood there a moment before slightly stumbling inside. He looked at her searching her for wounds then he noticed that she was not only swaying but smiling as well. Laughing he spoke.

"You're lit. Where'd you find something to drink around here?'

Walking in she tossed him a bottle of Wild Turkey. He caught it noticing that it was over half-empty, and it was a large bottle too.

"I'm guessin that this was full when you found it?" He questioned taking a drink.

"I just needed something to make me think more clearly."

"About what?" He asked taking another drink.

"About you, us." She answered.

Crossing over to him, he was surprised when she reached up and pulled him down into a kiss. Her lips soft and inviting against his, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her kissing back. His tongue ghosted across her lips and soon invaded her mouth as their tongues both circled around each other. Their kiss became heated as their tongues fought for dominance. Breaking apart for air, with no clear winner, he looked down at her. Taking a calming breath, he spoke.

"First, where'd you get the whisky? Second, after you've sobered up, we need to talk."

She nodded agreeing to the second before answering the first.

"Down in the kitchen, in the pantry, is a secret door down to a wine cellar. Actually, I would call it an alcohol storage room. Not just wine down there."

He nodded as they left the room to find Rick and Michonne. Showing them the door Rick flipped the light switch. The room below lit up brightly.

"Well, at least we can see what's down there." Daryl said readying his crossbow.

"Oh, I already changed the bulbs while I was down there." Lu admitted.

The three of them just turned to stare at her.

"What?" She asked.

Michonne looked over at Daryl and spoke.

"Alright, we've both been there. Which one of us wants to explain team player to her?"

"I got it." Daryl nodded as Lu still looked at them confused.

Heading downstairs, they looked around the cellar. Lu had been right. There were all kinds of alcohol down there.

"We're going to have to keep this room locked." Rick said thinking of the others once this place was found out.

Daryl smiled and picked up a bottle of Bourbon.

"This guy kept a selection." He said.

Lu nodded.

"Yeah, if you notice it's divided up real nice to. All the wines are in the double racks here in the middle of the room. The whisky and domestic stuff is on the wall by the stairs and the imported stuff like that Bourbon and some Cognac is on this wall over here. Also, if you look in the back corner, you'll find several water jugs full of a nice clear liquid that sure ain't water."

Daryl looked at her and laughed.

"No, shit. Really?"

Opening the lid, he sniffed it before taking a drink. Coughing he put the cap back on and nodded.

"Lu's right, this sure as hell ain't water."

Noticing that the room turned slightly under the stairs they went over to investigate. Soon they noticed a hand underneath the stairway. Readying his crossbow as Michonne pulled her sword Lu just looked at them.

"Don't worry," She said. "He's dead."

"Yeah, that's what makes him dangerous." Daryl answered.

"No, when I was down here earlier, he came after me. He's dead, dead."

Turning the corner, they saw the body of what would be the older teenage boy that had lived there. Against the wall were two half eaten bodies on the ground. They also noticed knife holes in their heads the size of Lu's bayonet. Turning to Lu she answered.

"They snapped at me. They don't have any legs or spine left so they really can't move. They've probably been here since this started."

"Looks like you found the owners of the house." Rick said.

Daryl crossed over to Lu.

"You o-kay. No scratches or bites or anything?"

"No, I've cleared places by myself before. I'm fine."

It was then that they heard a rattle nearby.

"Daryl, left." Lu said readying her staff.

Raising his crossbow, the others waited as he approached a barred metal storage cabinet underneath the stairs. The doors rattled louder as snarls were heard coming from inside. Everyone stood ready as he slowly removed the bar that was holding the doors closed. It was a small cabinet so they knew that there could only be one or two smaller people inside. The doors opened as a boy and a girl shambled out. Daryl's knife pierced the boy's skull as Michonne took down the girl.

"That's the family." Michonne said.

Looking down at them Daryl whispered.

"Son of a bitch."

Storming off he grabbed the bottle of Wild Turkey that they had been drinking and headed back upstairs. Lu and Michonne just looked at each other confused. Rick quickly explained so they wouldn't accidentally upset the others.

"Carol had a daughter named Sophia. She got lost in the woods and Daryl tried really hard to find her. When we did, she had turned. I put her down."

They nodded and looked down at the little girl. Around her neck she wore a necklace with the name, Sophia, on it. Deciding to check on Daryl, Lu left and headed upstairs as Rick got the others to help with the disposal. He purposefully placed Carol and Carl on watch in the yard so they wouldn't see the necklace. Upstairs Lu walked into Daryl's room where he was setting on his bed taking another drink. Setting down beside him, she spoke.

"Rick told us about Sophia. I'm sorry."

"Why? You didn't know her."

"No, I didn't. But it's obvious that she meant something to you. So, for your loss, I'm sorry."

He just snorted and took another drink.

"Be careful with that stuff. You know that drinking won't bring her back. It won't drown the memory forever and since the modern world no longer exists the booze will run out."

"Yeah, that's funny advice coming from the one who had to get drunk just to admit that she likes me." He said tipping the bottle up once again.

"Yeah, well if it helps, I'm still a bit buzzed from earlier." She admitted.

Looking at her for a moment he took another drink before deciding that he was pretty lit as well.

"So, you wanna talk about where we go from here?" He asked.

"Two ways that I can see. One, you tell me to get lost that you're not interested, and I'll leave. I won't bother you again. Two, we admit that we still like each other and want to be together and I stay. Maybe even see how much bounce this old mattress has in it."

He looked at her for a moment and nodded.

"I want you to stay. I just don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you or anything."

She smiled at him and answered.

"With you, I don't feel forced. I feel like I'm the one forcing. Neither one of us like being touched so I've kept my distance from you. It's just I don't think that I can much longer. Truth is, I really do want you to touch me and so much more."

"If I want to have sex, are you gonna say yes because you feel that you have to or because you want to?"

"If it's you, I've always wanted to. I know that if I tell you no then you'll stop. We might have been born white-trash, but it didn't stop you from growing up into a gentleman."

"Gentleman? Listen, Lu. About our first time the other day." He began.

Placing her finger on his lips she silenced him and spoke.

"I do not count that. As far as I'm concerned, we haven't been together yet. I will tell you this about me though so that you won't get discouraged. I seldom orgasm."

He looked at her obviously wanting to ask and not sure how to form the question. She smiled and continued.

"I was sold off so many times that I learned to focus on other things. I'm not saying that I never did, I'm just saying that I learned not to. Even women who are raped sometimes orgasm. We can't always stop our bodies."

"Maybe it's not that you can't it's just that you've shut down. Since you actually want to have sex with me then maybe your body will respond."

She nodded.

"I hope so. Truth is that I haven't been with anybody since they took me away. So, it's been a while."

"Except for a few days ago." He reminded her.

"Yeah, but I told you that I don't count that. If you want to get technical, I didn't orgasm then either."

Finishing the bottle, he set it down and turned to her. Thankfully blitzed he spoke.

"Listen, I ain't got much experience in this and I really don't know what the hell I'm doin."

Leaning forward she kissed him again as he kissed back, his body becoming dominate.

"Just do what feels natural. Trust me, you're already off to one hell of a start." She whispered.

Nodding he kissed her again as he pulled her back to lay on the bed. Removing her jacket, he felt the scars on her arms. Stopping he looked at her.

"You sure?" He asked.

She nodded.

"We both got scars from our fathers. I'm not going to hide my body from you."

He smiled and lifted her dress over her head. Tossing it aside he spoke.

"I don't ever want to see that ugly thing again. There are plenty of clothes downstairs."

"Fine by me." She nodded.

His hands moved across her body as she lay on top of him. The main problem that he encountered was her bra. Fumbling with it a moment she set up, straddling his hips. Feeling his hard length bulging underneath her and being held back by his jeans she smiled and couldn't help but move her hips against him. This had the effect of having a very loud moan escape his lips. Reaching behind her she unfastened her bra and tossed it to the side. Reaching up he cupped her breasts in his hands feeling the large weight in them.

"Damn, Lu. I never noticed with those clothes how big you've gotten up top."

Leaning forward she whispered into his ear.

"If anyone asks, the answer is 38 Double D."

Turning them over his hands began messaging and kneading her breasts. Playing with the tip before taking it into his mouth and gently sucking on one then the other. While his hands moved across her body hers moved over his as well. She felt him tense when she came into contact with the scars on his back. Gently nibbling his ear, he relaxed again as she continued to loosen and remove articles of clothing from him. Soon they were both completely naked as they looked at one another. Kissing her again his body covered hers as downstairs in the living room the rest had gathered after burying the family. They were now discussing what to do about the liquor room. Everyone knew that really the only ones who drank was Daryl and Lu and they didn't really see any problems coming from them. Looking around Hershel spoke.

"Where are they anyway? They should be here as well."

"Lu went to check on Daryl, but that was a while back." Michonne said realizing that they were indeed missing.

"I'll go see if they're still up there." Rick said before standing up and heading towards the stairs.

It was then that a strange sound caused him to stop and listen. It was metallic sounding whatever it was. Noticing the rhythmic sound was coming from upstairs he started laughing. Turning to the others he spoke.

"Found them."

Everyone looked at each other for a moment as the sound became louder.

"You're kidding? Really?" Glenn laughed.

Soon everyone was laughing as the loud metal bedframe's sound was impossible to tune out. The metallic sound picked up another notch as soon it slowed and became quiet. Inside the bedroom Daryl rolled over onto his back, pulling Lu with him. Both were trying to catch their breaths as he finally spoke.

"I take it you're going to be a biter?" He asked talking about the place on his shoulder that she had left some serious teeth impressions.

She laughed and then answered.

"You should be proud of that bite mark. I bit to keep from screaming. You actually made me orgasm. That was the first time my whole life that I actually enjoyed it."

"Really?" He asked unable to believe that he had pleased her.

She nodded and continued.

"Yes, believe me I didn't fake it. In fact, I think that you might have created an insatiable monster."

"I was goin to say the same about you." He said kissing her once again.

Downstairs they were laughing at the surprise ending of the day. Not long after, the sound that they had been laughing about started up once again. Looking at the others Maggie spoke.

"Look, they can keep the mattresses, but that bedframe has got to go or none of us will get any sleep."

Carol was about to argue when the sound of the headboard hitting the wall was heard. Deciding that Maggie was right she nodded as the rest agreed as the squeaking of the old springs became even louder. Finally, the sound slowed and stopped once again. As the group was trying to decide if they should bother them or not, they heard their bedroom door open. Waiting in the living room Daryl soon appeared, his presence met with a lot of clapping and cheering. Blushing bright red form his head to his toes, everyone was certain that even his hair was blushing.

"Um, I need to get some of the clothes that we brought from the fortress for Lu. I don't like that dress." He mumbled.

Carol and Maggie stood up and crossed over to where they had put the clothes. Picking up a couple of shirts and pants as well as a few pairs of underwear they handed them to him.

"We separated this stuff earlier. Thought that you would probably want to find her something else to wear." Carol smiled.

He nodded as Maggie spoke.

"We also ran off with several bras. Did she tell you her size?"

"She said if asked, thirty-eight double D."

"Really?" Maggie laughed. "Damn, I am really jealous."

Reaching into the clothes stacks she pulled out a pretty white lace one.

"This is the only one in that size."

Daryl nodded and turned to leave when Rick spoke.

"Just a suggestion but when you get back upstairs you might want to put the mattress on the floor and get away from those bedsprings and the wall."

He nodded and quickly headed back upstairs. Night descended as it remained quiet upstairs. As Rick and Michonne readied for bed she spoke.

"You know, maybe we shouldn't have said anything. I mean, we haven't heard anything from them since you said something."

Rick nodded in agreement as suddenly a scream of pleasure filled the hallway.

"Never mind." She said as Rick laughed.

Soon the house quieted down since there were now three sexually active couple inside. It wasn't until late the next morning when Daryl and Lu finally appeared downstairs. Aside from some lighthearted teasing everything was normal within the group. The day continued as Daryl made it clear, he considered them married, ring or not. Everyone moved about their day all knowing that they might have to run at a moments noticed as they continued to adjust to the new ever-changing world around them.


End file.
